Lorna, the Exorcist (1976)

Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

It is worth pointing out that there are no exorcists, or exorcisms, in this film. To make up for any disappointment this revelation may bring, we are recompensed with numerous invasive scenes featuring Lina Romay (who plays Linda), Jacqueline Laurent (Marianne) and Pamela Stanford (the very frightening Lorna of the title). In fact, the films opens with a ten minute scene of graphic lesbian pornography. You guessed it – this is a Jess Franco picture. As such, it is almost as if two separate projects have been spliced together. For a change, however, this is almost certainly not the case. What we have then, is a Faustian storyline played by a very good cast, interspersed with elongated moments of pretty hard-core porn. Does one element distract from the other? That's for the individual to decide – for me, it presents blatantly, even by his own standards, Franco's unwillingness to play by any rules.The story. Patrick Mariel (Guy Delorme) is a wealthy businessman with a loving wife and occasionally troublesome daughter, who is about to celebrate her 18th birthday. His problems stem from his own stupidity – many years ago, when he was penniless and suicidal, he made a deal with the mysterious Lorna (with whom his daughter suspects he is having an affair), whereby he would become financially successful in exchange for his then unborn daughter, on her 18th birthday.Stanford as the formidable demon, sports the most appalling overuse of eye make-up. Such a mask-like touch could look ridiculous, but she actually looks incredibly unnerving, in part due to her confident and alluring performance. Her henchman Mariuziuz is played by Howard Vernon, but with her powers, he seems superfluous – which is something of a waste of Vernon's talents. Knowing Franco's schedule, Vernon was probably busy working on another film for the director at the same time! During the longest of his two scenes, Mariuziuz throws Mariel out of Lorna's apartment, after trying unsuccessfully to open a stubborn sliding door two or three times. Strange they didn't allow a retake.To add to the spice, Lorna refers to Linda as her daughter throughout, which gives the sex scenes between them an extra incestuous edge. There is also a scene where Marianne is festooned with crabs which is extreme and guaranteed to raise an eyebrow or two. Equally, the brutal use of a dildo later on makes the viewer wince somewhat. Franco's camera is obsessed with every area of intimacy; with any other director, you might assume the zooms and out-of-focus moments are borne out of over-excitement – with Franco, it's a trademark. Inappropriate music abounds (courtesy of classical guitarist André Bénichou and Robert de Nesle), especially in the climactic scenes, which due to Romay, are powerful and delightfully unselfconscious. Her scenes toward the end, when her 'new' nature takes over, are really well acted – subtly to begin with (not something you often find in these kind of films), and full-on terrifying the nearer we get to the end. And the camera, so intrusive, does Romay few favours, lingering far too long on a final huge-eyed close-up.A genuinely perverse and affecting film then, and one of the director's most personal. I enjoyed it, but wouldn't recommend watching it on a first date.

I am relatively new to Jess Franco, my first ever movie of his being the hilariously bad yet still entertaining White Cannibal Queen. Quite often I hear Lorna the Exorcist mentioned as being a good movie, so I decided to finally watch it tonight, deliberately going in knowing nothing about it except it is a Jess Franco movie. Wow...just wow...what an amazing film! Linda, played by the very young and incredibly beautiful Lina Romay, is about to turn 18. Everything is going to plan to celebrate her birthday, until her father Patrick gets an unsettling phone call from a mysterious woman called Lorna. Lorna wants Linda, and she'll stop at nothing to get her. Now she is appearing in Linda's dreams, and Patrick must do everything he can to save his only daughter from this mysterious woman, who appears to be capable of possessing others. But is he too late?... There is something so beautiful about this movie. The score is just so beautiful, and goes so well with our beautiful stars, who are not shy to show their perfect bodies. Nor is the camera shy to get close enough for graphic details. Fans of the female form can rejoice as this movie focuses on beauty and perfection, especially private areas. Same might call this movie sleazy, and while it's one of the most explicit I have seen, there is something so hynotising about it, you just can't look away. It's like a dream that slowly descends into a nightmare. I don't think this movie is sleazy, I think it's amazing. I gotta find it interesting that this movie can be simultaneously arousing and disturbing at the same time. I don't think I have ever seen a movie quite like this before. At times beautiful and at others, downright horrifying! The performances were fantastic, some even emotional! One of the most touching moments for me was when Jacqueline Laurent, playing the wife stands by her husband because nothing can destroy their love, even in times of trial. It really was such an emotional and beautiful scene. I loved it. Pamela Stanford is just hypnotic as the seductress Lorna. Her bright green eye shadow giving her such a menacing look with the stare that would freeze you up. Guy Delorme as Patrick also gives a strong performance as the tired and stressed father, doing everything he can to save his daughter, but the real star of this movie is the stunning Lina Romay. She played this part bravely as the innocent Linda, ready to be corrupted by the seductress Lorna. Her natural beauty highlighting her innocent nature. Her performance at the end is absolutely terrifying and bound to stay with you for a while. I do have to wonder if the makers of Sleepaway Camp saw this movie. Those who have seen the ending will know why. There are at least a couple of scenes that will have you raising your eyebrows. This is quite an explicit movie, and by explicit, I mean practically pornographic. And while some ... um....love scenes.... are more than a little raunchy, some are intense and frightening! There is something so disturbing and horrifying about a couple of scenes. No doubt this movie caused some controversy. My only complaint is this movie does drag a little in certain parts. At 99 mins, some scenes needn't be as long as they were. Still, it kept my attention and even caused my jaw to drop (multiple times) so I have to take my hat off to Mr Franco. This truly is such an amazing and awe struck film. One I believe I will be watching again.

The vast filmography of Jess Franco is littered with cheap timewasters that are not of interest to anyone; but among those films are some real gems. Lorna the Exorcist, however, falls somewhere between the two sets of films; it's not vintage Franco, but it's better than a lot of his stuff and does at least make for a decent viewing. I had a feeling that this film may be a rip off of another film released in the early seventies with the word 'Exorcist' in the title; but actually the film is more of a nightmarish fairy tale with some sex involved (although clearly the film is cashing in on the title!). The plot focuses on a businessman named Patrick. He takes his wife and daughter on holiday; but things turn awry for Patrick when a woman named Lorna turns up. Lorna and Patrick had relations some years earlier and it emerges that Lorna is some kind of witch that has power over various women; including his daughter, who is almost ready to turn eighteen. Lorna begins to infiltrate Patrick's life, and he tries to protect his daughter.The main draw of this film for most Franco fans will undoubtedly be the beautiful Lina Romay who stars as the eighteen year old daughter. The rest of the cast is nothing to write home about; but there is a role for Franco stalwart Howard Vernon, as well as sometimes collaborator Pamela Stanford in the central role. The version of the film that I saw ran for just over eighty minutes, and I wouldn't be surprised to find that its cut as the film is not particularly graphic or disturbing. There is a fair bit of sex; including lesbian sex and we are treated to the entire usual trademark Franco zoom shots. The most memorable scene takes place in the bedroom and involves a really bad case of crabs! The plot itself takes a backseat to the atmosphere and sleaze elements, but it's actually not too badly worked and it does at least succeed in keeping the film interesting for most of the duration. Overall, Lorna the Exorcist is not hugely memorable and is in no way a classic horror film; but it's decent enough stuff and most Franco fans wont regret tracking it down.

Lorna the Exorcist (1974)*** (out of 4) One of cult director Jess Franco's best films, Patrick Mariel (Guy Delorme) makes a deal with his ex-lover (Pamela Stanford) that if she grants him riches that she can have his daughter when she turns 18. Now 18-years-old, the witch Lorna comes to visit Linda (Lina Romay) in a very sexual way. LORNA THE EXORCIST is around in many different versions but the recent release from Mondo Macabro presents the film with a running time of 100-minutes. This here is about twelve-minutes longer than the previous version I watched and I must admit that I preferred the shorter one. Several of the scenes in the longer version just drag on a bit too much and there's really nothing added except for the one legendary and talked about scenes that finally appeared in the film. This of course is the much discussed dildo sequence, which is perfectly executed by Franco who manages to milk every painful moment from it. The same is true for the crab sequences, which are among the most memorable and creepy from any film the director has made. These two scenes alone certainly stand out but the film offers up much more. I think the atmosphere is what the director really nails and this is especially true during the sexual scenes where we're given a dream-like quality to them. The film really does seem like a nightmare that has come to life and all the credit must go to Franco. It certainly doesn't hurt that we're given some fine performances with both Stanford and Delorme really standing out in their parts. Romay clearly steals the film as her sexuality and beauty are perfectly captures on screen and it's easy to see why her and Franco would become partners. There are some problems with the film including the already mentioned longer version but I also think that the film does drag in both versions. There's just not too much going on in the story to really warrant the extended running time. Still, LORNA THE EXORCIST is one of the director's best and most hypnotic films.